Les Dés Sont Jetés  The Die is Cast
by Cenoha
Summary: Manjoume tries to rant about hating Judai, but accidentally does the opposite.     Rated T for safety


AN: (I'll try to put more important stuff here, and everything else at the end)  
>I don't own any anime at all.<br>_Italics are Manjoume's thoughts and his thoughts ONLY_  
><strong>This has very mild boy love in it.<strong>  
>'Lapsus Linguae' means 'A slip of the tongue' in Latin<p>

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><p>"Get lost, Drop Out! I have better things to do!" Did that idiotic boy have to be everywhere?<p>

"But Manjoume! You promised me a duel!" Ugh. Manjoume was seriously regretting that.

"It's Manjoume-SAN! And I don't feel like dealing with you or your terrible dueling skills today. Now shove off!" Manjoume knew he was lying to himself. But considering how empty-headed Judai was when it came to classwork, and Manjoume's own superior dueling skills, it was just shameful to lose to him so many times.

"Manjoume-san," When did that blue-haired midget even get here? "Why are you so mean to Aniki?" Manjoume smirked.

"Ha! Isn't it obvious?" Met with two blank stares, he sighed. Why were the worst students of Duel Academy always hanging around him? "I should've figured. This is a long list, so pay attention! I'm not repeating myself. First of all, it's Judai's dumb bi-colored hair!" _That shimmers, and looks oh-so-soft..._ "Second, how you can tell in his eyes that he's never thinking of ANYTHING!" _Except when he's curious, or determined, or when those Tiger's Eyes are looking directly into Manjoume's..._ "And who the hell is that optimistic ALL THE TIME? It's annoying just to LOOK at Judai's stupid grinning face!" _And he makes it impossible to look away, the way his personality radiates warmth and his smile is so eye-catching..._ "Plus, he has the dumbest catch phrases, like 'Gotcha!' or that stupid pose he uses! Cut the comedy! Are we characters on TV or something? Act like a normal human being!" _That pose that's just so ridiculously HIM, it almost makes a person forget they've lost..._ "Judai is so confident all of the time! But that's a part of how he's so charismatic, and you can't help but like hi—" Wait. That part wasn't supposed to be out loud. "Dammit."

"Ah! Manjoume!" Judai exclaimed, then looking to Sho, said, "See? I told you we were friends!"

"I believed you, Aniki! I just didn't think that Manjoume-san would admit it." Sho began to leave, quietly, to avoid Manjoume's wrath.

"We're NOT friends! And it's SAN! Manjoume-SAN!"

"Yes, yes, Manjoume-san. Or maybe," Judai looked directly at Manjoume, "it should be Manjoume-KUN, since you admitted you liked me!" Manjoume's face reddened (out of anger, of course, what else?) and looked to the side, muttering, "I wish you wouldn't phrase it like that." And he also wished Sho hadn't so conveniently disappeared.

Manjoume knew very well that Judai could suddenly be smarter and more insightful than usual, he just usually took for granted how ordinarily oblivious Judai was. Knowing Manjoume's lucky track record, he should have guessed that this would be the one time Judai caught an underlying meaning. Or even heard his mumbled sentence at all.

"What about the way I'm phrasing it?" Judai leaned to the side and down a little, matching his gaze with Manjoume's, who was still looking embarrassedly to the side.

"What are you talking about, Drop Out? Stop speaking nonsense; let's just get this duel over with so you can leave me in peace." Manjoume straightened his posture again, looking forward. He tried to be nonchalant, hoping to take Judai's mind off of his 'lapsus linguae.' Judai followed Manjoume's movement, keeping their gazes connected.

"We have all day to duel! But if you don't say what you mean now, I'll forget about it!"

_Lately my life is some sort of downward spiral_, Manjoume concluded.

"It didn— I meant that... Don't twist my words like I said we're friends! You should actually say what I said!" Doing his best to look angry, Manjoume briefly considered a career in acting. He was getting more practice every day.

"Yes, I see." But from the broad smile on Judai's face, Manjoume guessed this act wasn't really working. For now, he should probably forget about the thrilling theatre life he would never have and focus on the very real situation in front of him.

"I was just thinking," Judai continued, "about how great it would be if you meant something else."

"Something else?" What the hell was this golden boy—

Judai leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Manjoume's.

Oh. _Oh. _That was... something else. Manjoume blinked once. Twice. Judai was still there, this ludicrous grin spread across his stupid face.

Manjoume chuckled. Softly, at first, gradually getting louder, more obnoxious. Judai, taking advantage of Manjoume's sudden lapse in judgment (or maybe sanity), carefully took hold of Manjoume's hands. Maybe he was too preoccupied with losing his sanity, or maybe he just really didn't mind, but Manjoume didn't try to move his hands from Judai's.

"Slacker," Manjoume finally recovered, "You should probably explain now."

"What is there to explain?" Judai's eyes flickered briefly to their hands, then back up to meet Manjoume's. "I like you, Manjoume." Manjoume took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Are you sure you know what that means?" Judai stared blankly at Manjoume for a moment. His face suddenly became a bizarre mosaic of emotions, and Manjoume was unable to really tell what Judai was feeling.

"I know I like you," Judai had that—_gorgeous—_look of determination in his eyes, but there was also this strange undertone, making Manjoume feel as if Judai was desperately trying to convince him that this was real, "I know that I think about you a lot, way more than I should. And I always want to be around you. When I really am around you, I can't keep my eyes off you, everywhere you go! If what I feel can even be put into words, it's that I like you, Manjoume."

Ugh. What was Manjoume supposed to say to that? He was quite aware that this was basically the way he himself felt, but Judai had already said it all. He didn't want to just agree and sound artificial, but the only thing he could really add were the observations he'd made in the midst of his own infatuation, but... Oh, screw it.

"Judai... Listen, okay? Remember, I don't give repeats." Manjoume reclaimed his hands and saw Judai's face fall. Trying to keep from smirking (and failing miserably) he carefully watched Judai's face once again light up as he used his now free hands to pull Judai closer, and, deciding to treat himself, began to stroke Judai's hair. A few moments of silence passed.

"I remember, Manjoume." 

_Remember to breathe..._

"I adore your smile. The way it lights up any room you walk into. Your optimism is enchanting, how it's so infectious. I'm fascinated by your hair—how does hair do that? But it matches you so well. I especially love your eyes. They remind me of Tiger's Eyes. The way people surround you, you're more like the sun tha—"

"I have cat eyes?"

"NO. Can't you focus for more than two seconds?" Despite what he was saying, Manjoume sounded more amused than annoyed. "Drop Out, I'm trying to prove a point here," Manjoume placed his forehead against Judai's, closing his eyes.

"So what's the point?" Judai whispered.

"Don't you know by now?" Manjoume kept his eyes closed, and readjusted his voice to be the same volume as Judai's.

"You'll have to tell me." Judai finally began to also close his eyes. His smile, however, was getting wider every second.

"Of course, now you can't just infer... I like you too. Slacker." Judai kissed him again, only this time it was longer, sweeter.

_Spiraling downward isn't so bad...  
><em>

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><p>AN: The end! So, was it good? This is my first fanfiction, and I got kind of excited and rushed it... (Actually, I planned a story for days. I wanted Manjoume to play piano, then ice skate, then I wanted to instead do a thiefshipping fic, then I began writing this, then I erased what I had and got this version. I'm happy with how it turned out though.)<br>I kind of combined a little bit of the English and Japanese versions. And it's so out of character! But I'm proud because it's my first fanfiction~ Yay ^_^_  
><em>Please review! I know this wasn't amazing or ground breaking, but I'd like to know if it was at least a little bit alright..?  
>-Cenoha<em><br>_


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